Water services workers set to be balloted on industrial action

Siptu is to ballot members working in the country’s water services on industrial action in two weeks’ time if it does not receive assurances from local authorities that workers who refuse to transfer from councils to Uisce Éireann will retain their current allowances and earnings derived from rostered overtime.

Senior organiser Brendan O’Brien said on Monday the union has sought assurances from the chief executive of each local authority that the terms of those who decline to transfer to the company will be protected.

“We have negotiated a framework document that sets out a number of things and one of the things is that the terms and conditions of people transferring to Irish Water will be protected,” he said.

“But it also states that those that choose to stay with their council keep their terms and that includes allowances and rostered overtime.

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“Obviously they will be allocated other duties and they will do them, this isn’t about free money but they shouldn’t be worse off.

“We have had correspondence with the Minister [Darragh O’Brien] and he has said the agreement should be honoured so I’ve written to all of the chief executives but none of them has confirmed that they intend to respect they will honour the agreement.

“That’s why we are going to ballot them in two weeks on taking industrial action if we do not receive the assurances we are looking for. We are calling on the councils to confirm they will abide by the agreement because their failure to do so will lead to an escalation in the situation.”

The move comes as Siptu called on Monday for the Taoiseach to clarify whether he is in favour of holding a referendum on the public ownership of water services on the same day as the proposed vote on gender equality currently being proposed for later this year.

The holding of a referendum on the issue of water services ownership has been the subject of a long standing campaign by a number of unions operating in the sector and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions amid ongoing concerns about the future public sector status of the company’s staff.

The Government has previously committed to holding such a referendum and Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien suggested last year that proposals would be brought forward to hold referendums on both housing and the public ownership of water services in the early part of this year.

Both Micheál Martin, when he was taoiseach, and Mr Varadkar have said water services would remain in public hands. After it was confirmed that a referendum on gender equality would be held in November, Mr Varadkar suggested that the possibility of holding others, including one on water services ownership, at the same time had not been ruled out.

“Our members who provide this vital public service are now calling for some clarity from the Government on the holding of a referendum on the public ownership of water services,” said Siptu Water Committee Chair, Stephen Kelly on Monday. “We believe such a referendum is essential in order to ensure that the interests of workers, the general public and the wider common good is protected into the future.

The union’s public administration and community division organiser, Karan O Loughlin, said Siptu was “calling on the Taoiseach to confirm that the date for the equality referendum will also be the date for a referendum to keep water services in public ownership”.